See also

Walton's skilful brushwork has created a remarkable sense of immediacy and realism in this depiction of the two children resting on a leafy river bank. The picture was Walton's first large scale painting and his first treatment of an outdoor theme in which figures dominate the composition. It reflects the influence of the French painters Millet and Bastien-Lepage in its subject and restrained tones. He began painting the work outside at Cockburnspath, Berwickshire and completed it in Helensburgh in 1885. It was exhibited at the Glasgow Institute in 1887 and favourably reviewed.

Composition

The arrangement of different elements in a work of art.

Glasgow Institute

The Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts was founded in 1861 with the aim of organising exhibitions of contemporary art. It continues to do so today, hosting exhibitions at the Kelly Gallery and organising a major annual exhibition which, throughout its history, has often been held at the city's McLellan Galleries.

Realism

Used generally for art that attempts to represent things as they appear. It specifically refers to a mid-19th century movement in France, led by Gustave Courbet, that rejected the sometimes obscure subject matter of academic painting in favour of more accessible scenes of everyday life.

Composition, Glasgow Institute, Realism

Details

Acc. No.NG 2702

MediumOil on canvas

Size139.70 x 116.80 cm (framed: 177.20 x 154.30 x 9.30 cm)

CreditPurchased with the aid of the Art Fund 1999

Edward Arthur Walton (Scottish, 1860 - 1922)

Walton and his artist friends formed a group known as the Glasgow Boys. They were inspired by developments in landscape painting in France and sought to explore the natural effects of light in the open air through painting Scottish rural subjects. Walton spent a year in Dusseldorf and studied at the Glasgow School of Art, but gained most experience working with his friends at Cockburnspath, Berwickshire and Cambuskenneth, Stirling. He specialised in landscapes and portraits. He settled with his family in Edinburgh in 1904 after a successful decade in London. Walton was elected to the Royal Scottish Academy in 1905.